How to check 404 pages and fix 404 errors: A Simple Guide

Have you ever wondered ‘How to check 404 pages’? If you have a website,  404 errors may be a common occurrence.

404 pages may be the biggest turn-off for the users while they surf on your website. Most of you might have seen the ‘discord 404 page’ so often if you use the website.

It could be due to mistyping the URL or the page no longer existing, but in both cases, it can harm your brand.

Furthermore, it doesn’t stop there; such errors can also impact your website’s SEO, making it difficult for search engines to crawl your site.

Despite having multiple tools to find 404 errors, we are still unable to see most of the broken pages, which leads to lost website traffic.

The website may suffer due to these errors, which is why you need to know how to check 404 errors and fix them so your site runs smoothly.

This blog will explain the simplest methods to find and fix 404 errors efficiently so your website doesn’t suffer anymore.

What exactly is a 404 Error?

Before learning how to check 404 pages and fix errors, it’s necessary to understand what these 404 errors mean.

When the page your visitors are trying to access isn’t found on any servers, there is a 404 error. This code implies that the page that users can't find the page they have requested.

Your website's specific page is not responding to the URL your visitors inserted in the search bar.

In other words, that may be more familiar to web developers; the HTTP header has a response status code whenever the page is loaded in the browser, and when the page is not found, it responds with 404 errors.

The errors are categorized into five types of responses:

Hence, a 404 page is an HTTP code error on the visitor’s side.

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What are the causes behind the ‘404 Page Not Found’?

The 404 errors may be because you have deleted the page, modified it, or changed the URL. Your visitors might have inserted the wrong link that redirects them to a page not found.

404-page errors may also occur after the site migration or when you have redesigned your website. It is plausible that such mistakes may happen when you have switched to a different CMS or other web technologies.

Another reason may be that visitors misspelt your website URL after sharing it on social media platforms.

These are some of the most common reasons why such errors occur.

Recommended Read: How to Create a Social Media Website Step-by-Step

The Two Types of 404 Errors: Hard 404 vs. Soft 404 Errors

There are two types of HTTP code errors: Hard 404 and Soft 404 Errors.

Hard 404 errors are a more common occurrence. You might have come across them one too many times while surfing websites many times.

However, you can find soft 404 errors only when you get notified directly via Google Search Console.

In the soft 404 error, when the page (that doesn’t exist) shows ‘not found’ to the users, it does return a 'success response’ to the search engines.

This response will lead Google and other search engines to believe a page exists with that URL, leading Google crawlers to waste their time searching for and ranking such URLs.

Fortunately, Google is an efficient search engine and can quickly identify these pages with code errors.

When it identifies such pages with all the attributes of a 404 error, it notifies the website owners that it has labelled the pages with Soft 404 errors.

Why is it important to know how to check 404 pages and fix them?

Too many 404 errors can negatively impact your website. To avoid any negativity that could affect your websites and other related elements, you need to know how to find and fix those errors.

Here’s how 404 page errors can impact your website negatively:

User Experience

» You might have the same experience after encountering a 404 error, but from a visitor’s point of view, 404 errors are a terrible experience.

» Even a single 404 error can cause a visitor to leave your site. It might cost you a potential customer, even if you’ve prioritized user experience while developing the website.

SEO Impact

» Despite Google not directly punishing your website for a 404 error, the overall hindrance can still hurt your website’s SEO performance

» If there are many 404 pages on your website, it will make it more complicated for Google search engines to crawl and index your site correctly. This will impact your SEO immensely.

» The ranking of your website will be significantly affected as the link value (link equity) won’t be passed effectively across your site.

Bounce Rates

» Users leaving after landing on a 404 page increases your bounce rate.

» High bounce rates are a ranking factor, and Google could impact your site negatively if the rate is too high.

Here’s what Google stated about the 404 errors affecting the website:

“If some URLs on your site are 404, this fact alone does not hurt you or count against you in Google’s search results. However, there may be other reasons that you’d want to address certain types of 404s. For example, if some of the pages that 404 are pages you actually care about, you should look into why we’re seeing 404s when we crawl them!.”

Related Read: Top 12 Tips To Rank Higher in Google My Business Listing

How to Find 404 Errors Page on Website?

The most accessible way to find a page with 404 errors on your website is to use your Google Analytics dashboard.

Firstly, navigate towards the left side of the dashboard and go into “behaviour” to choose “site content." Then, click on all pages.

Now, choose the “page title” and search for the 404 pages to get the list of all the 404 errors.

However, this is not all. You can use a few other credible tools to check the 404 page on your website.

Let’s take a look:

1. Google Search Console

You can easily find 404 errors in Google Search Console. Just go to the "Index" section on the left menu, click "Coverage," then "Excluded." From there, select "Not found (404)" or "Soft 404" to see a list of pages that Google couldn't find.

2. Server Logs

Your server logs also show 404 errors. However, they often include bot traffic, so many of these errors may not matter to actual visitors.

Some of the reported URLs may have never existed on your site, so you can ignore those. Here’s an example from a popular site:

Focusing on fixing actual broken links is essential, but the high number of 404s reported in server logs might make it harder to prioritize the ones that impact visitors.

3. Online Crawling Tools

Tools available online can scan your site and help you find broken links.

One popular option is the Ahrefs Site Explorer. But do remember that these tools only find 404s from internal links on your site, not dead links from other websites.

How do you Fix the 404 Errors on Your Website pages?

Now that you know how to check 404 pages, it’s time to see how you can fix them.

There are four ways you can fix 404 errors:

1. Redirection Method

You can start by redirecting the 404 error. All you need to do is send the visitors to another relevant page of your website. Just ensure to redirect them to a page that will be relevant to their interests.

A home page may not suffice in every situation. You can add a redirection plugin for your WordPress websites.

2. Restoring the Page

If you discover that the page you deleted is still garnering enough attention or has that kind of demand, consider restoring the page.

Restoring the deleted page might be the only option if you don’t have any other relevant page that could substitute it.

3. URL Correction

In case of a broken link, you can edit it and rectify it with the correct URL. However, rectifying a link on your website that’s out of your control will be complicated.

Be mindful of what to do first if you have a lot of 404 errors. Especially if the errors often occur on the main pages, such as category pages, service or product pages, contact pages, etc., it should be your priority to check 404 errors and fix them.

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How Many Times to Check 404 Errors for Your Website?

How often you should check 404 errors on your website is all dependent on the size of your site.

For instance, if your site is small, likely a small e-commerce website, and has less than 50 pages, you may run a monthly check for 404 page errors.

However, large websites like SaaS may require you to run a weekly check over it. It can get to a point where you have to check 404 errors every other day.

How to Design a 404 Error Code Page?

You might have come across many customized 404 pages, with a standard redirection message to send the users to another relevant page.

However, most of the time, those redirection tactics are too technical for the average visitor and eventually force them to abandon the website.

If you customize a 404 error page that is direct and simple for your users to understand, they can proceed with the redirection process smoothly.

The priority is to give the visitors what they are looking for by redirecting them to a relevant page that will keep them engaged and give them value for their time.

With a unique 404 page, you can provide more value to your users and even help them find the information they seek.

While customizing such a page, ensure you’re not overdoing it. An explicit mention of the 404 page not found in the header is essential. It is necessary so that not only users but search engines too recognize the error.

There are examples of companies customizing their 404 page in a way that helps visitors find relevant pages and enhance their brand marketing.

Here are a few examples:

» McDonald’s

McDonald’s 404 page displays various relevant links for the users, not just a home page.

» Giphy

The website proceeded to link with the home page and more of their GIFs to engage the visitors.

» Wendy

Wendy provided visitors with the option to go back to order and an engaging game.

Conclusion

Now that we have discussed how to check 404 pages and fix those errors to maintain a better user experience for the website’s visitors even during this inconvenience.

We learned how to find and fix such errors so that they not only maintain the website's quality but also prevent its negative effect on SEO performance.

We also learned that when such errors occur, Google crawlers find it difficult to crawl and index pages. However, many tools exist to identify 404 pages or broken links, including Google Console.

Furthermore, if you need any assistance with website development or any other tech service, Arramton Infotech is here, along with its team of experts.

Hopefully, this has been an insightful read for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How to refresh the page error 404?

Ans: You can fix the 404 error by updating your server. By doing so, you will have it serve the index.html file for every route path that you have defined.

Q. What does the default 404 error page mean?

Ans: It means when a visitor searches a link on search engines, it takes them to a page that doesn’t exist. It could be due to the dead or broken link.

Q. What should I do on a 404 error page?

Ans: Here are some of the tips you can keep in mind while designing a 404 error page:

» It should be simple and minimalistic, not complex.

» Use graphics such as images or gifs.

» Use elements that align with your brand.

» Link helpful pages.

» Redirect to the most relevant pages.

Q. What are the soft 404 errors?

Ans: This means that when the page has all the attributes of a 404 error, it sends an OK signal to search engines. However, Google Console can quickly identify such pages, label them Soft 404 errors, and notify the website owners.